


Percival Graves and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day

by dragons_and_angels



Category: Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them (Movies)
Genre: Gen, Gen or Pre-Slash, M/M, Slice of Life, Various OCs - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-12-21
Updated: 2017-04-04
Packaged: 2018-09-08 19:38:55
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 9,943
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8858170
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/dragons_and_angels/pseuds/dragons_and_angels
Summary: One day Newt Scamander will be banned from entering New York. Percival Graves can't wait for that day to come.





	1. Morning

**Author's Note:**

> This hints more at Credence/Graves (which is why I tagged it as such) but Graves pretty much has a crush on everyone in this.

If he knew how his day would have turned out, he wouldn't have bothered getting out of bed that day. The first thing was his alarm clock, instead of seranading him with his favourite song and gently shaking the bed to wake him up, decided to explode instead. His nightstand was burned, his mattress were singed and he was going to have throw these sheets away. It was the last thing he needed after having to deal with three of his Aurors squabbling last night. The finest wizards and witches in all the land and they got into a duel over the last paczki. Yes, Queenie's No-maj had made it and Percival would turn all the blind eyes to Queenie's relationship with the No-Maj as long as he kept making those paczkis, but when he had three Aurors acting like toddlers over it, it got ridiculous. 

Not to mention the paperwork that came with one Auror with scales, one Auror with a swollen head and one Auror with feathers everywhere. So many feathers. 

He really didn't want to go into work today but it was better than contemplating the mess of his once alarm clock so he rolled out of bed and headed to the bathroom. 

"Those are some black circles you've got there, dear," the mirror told him as he was shaving. 

"I didn't sleep well," he replied and then immediately wanted to slap himself for talking to a mirror. He finished his shaving, managed to nick himself despite it being one of those razors which had promised a bloodless shave, and grabbed his coat. He couldn't apparate in his apartment so he had to down the block. The freezing sleet made the walk seem to last forever. 

"Mr Graves!" The squeaky young man who worked the apparation point at MACUSA stood up straight from where he had been slouching over his workstation. His hand twitched as if he was about to salute and Percival was quick to glare at the man to prevent any such eventuality. "Um... er.... you have a visitor." 

Considering it was normally his secretary's job to tell him such a thing, Percival allowed confusion to show on his face. Madam Picquery said he should be more personable with his colleagues, that way if a Grindelwald situation ever happened again, people would know he had been replaced. At this advice, Percival had left the room but not before jinxing her doorway to rain on her every time she walked through it. 

"Do you know who that visitor is?" He asked when the man showed no signs of elaborating. 

"The fellow with the case." That could only mean one person. 

"Thank you," Percival said curtly and wished Picquery was here to see this before he moved up the stairs. He had to dodge one of the mail girls who seemed to have her head in the clouds. "Ms Jenkins, if you can concentrate a little more on where you are going and a little less on your book, it would lead to far less accidents," Percival shot over his shoulder and heard the quick, "Yes, sir!" to know his words had landed. 

The walk to his office was peaceful, until he walked in and there was Queenie Goldstein with a brown case. 

"Ms Goldstein," he said, eyeing the case. Queenie was a welcome sight, the case not so much. Picquery had told him things about what happened the last time that case and Newt Scamander had come into town. 

Queenie laughed. "He's really friendly once you get to know him," she said. 

"I'm sure he is," Percival said wryly. He liked Queenie, he really did, not everyone could handle life with as much flair as she did, but she did like to skip over the point sometimes. "But I don't particularly want a dragon to appear in the middle of New York. I don't think Mr Scamander can pull another thunderbird out of his case this time." 

The door was flung open and Tina Goldstein rushed in, cheeks flushed and hair all over the place. "Queenie, we have a problem-oh Mr Graves, I didn't see you there." 

"Clearly," he replied. "What kind of problem do you have?" 

Tina looked shifty. It really wasn't a good quality for an Auror to have her emotions written all over her face. Then again if Grindelwald had impersonated her, he would have been found out in a second. "What problem? No problem at all." 

"That's not very convincing." 

The door banged open again and Newt Scamander, bright blue coat and all, came in with the same look Tina had had on her face two minutes ago. "Tina, have you got my case? Oh Mr Graves, it's nice to see you being you." 

"Thank you, Mr Scamander. Now what is going on?" Newt avoided his eyes but he did that as a general rule from what Percival could remember the last time he had come to New York, though the Bowtruckle Newt had on him all the time stuck his head out and had a look at Percival. Tina on the other hand looked anywhere but at his face and he definitely wasn't used to that. 

"One of Newt's creatures escaped," Queenie said. If it was possible for dread to be a physical thing, it was now in Percival's stomach. He looked at each of their faces in turn. 

"I really hope you are joking," All three of them looked uncomfortable. Never had Percival felt more like a teacher than at this moment. He had new sympathy for his Professors at Ilvermorny. "Which one?" 

"The niffler," Newt said quickly. A little too quickly if you asked Percival, but for the moment he would take it at face value. The niffler was bad enough. 

"Where is it? Please say it's not at another No-Maj bank." 

"No, actually," Newt said but was interrupted by a scream coming from down the corridor. "It may be here." Percival gave him a frigid glare which seemed to bother Newt not a bit, before heading towards the source of the noise. The niffler had been there but had left right after snatching the rings off the woman's fingers. She was sobbing piteously but seemed unharmed, so Percival sent her to the Healers' Ward of MACUSA for a strong calming potion. 

"Any idea where it could have gone?" He asked Newt, who looked at him blankly. Percival sometimes wondered how this man had managed to capture several dangerous creatures when it seemed like he couldn't keep track of where he was supposed to be at any given time. Yes, he was pretty but it wasn't like creatures cared about that. Or maybe he did, how would he know? "Right, so we'll split up. Goldstein, Ms Goldstein, if you can go down and guard all the entrances. The last thing we want is the niffler getting out into the Muggle world again. Scamander, you cover the east wing of the building, I'll cover the west." There was a series of nods until the last part of that sentence. 

"Why don't I cover the west and you do the east?" Newt said, his eyes flickering from Percival, down to the floor and then back again. It was a shifty look, even for Newt who seemed incapable of making eye contact with a person for longer than ten seconds, but at the moment Percival let it go. 

"Fine. If I find the niffler, I'll take him back to my office, alright?" The three of them scampered off and Percival wondered why he was getting a sense of foreboding about this. 

**

"You work with dangerous beasts? They look like they could knock you flat," one of the Aurors was saying as Percival rounded the corner. He recognised the blonde head of hair and wide frame as belonging to Matthew Chadwick. A fairly average Auror who could be trusted to follow orders and that was it. 

"They're not all dangerous," a quiet voice said. It's owner was blocked from Percival's view by the three Aurors standing between the two of them. Percival approached quietly. He saw one of the Aurors, Megan Merryweather, notice him. Her eyes went wide and she stepped back from the group as if distancing herself now would stop him being angry at her. 

"They're beasts," Chadwick continued mockingly. The tone of voice grated on Percival and he felt his ire rise. He had been searching for an hour and there was no sign of the niffler anywhere and now there were several idiot Aurors standing around taunting Scamander's assistant. "They deserve to be put down." 

"Is there any particular reason no one is doing any work?" Percival said in his blandest voice. There was something immensely satisfying in seeing Chadwick, Burns and Ryan jump several feet in the air and turn around to face him. 

"Sir, we were just- " Chadwick hastened to explain but his voice was already grating on Percival's ears. He didn't want to hear some concocted lie and then have to deal with it. 

"You weren't doing anything useful or constructive. Be useless on your own time. Now go and do your jobs." The four Aurors scattered, leaving the man they had been talking to standing there. He had a strange haircut and he rounded his shoulders when he stood, as if he could make himself disappear if he tried hard enough. There was no eye contact from him either but it seemed to be a common magi-zoologist trait. He was young, though appeared to look younger due to his haircut, but his face said early twenties. "You work with Scamander right?" 

The man nodded. "Yes, Mr Graves." 

The man said his name with the ease of long familiarity but Percival was sure he had never met him before. Maybe Newt had been complaining about Percival often enough. "Good. Now, I would like you to help me. The niffler has escaped and there is no telling what he could do in this building. The two Goldstein sisters have gone to guard the entrance to make sure the niffler doesn't escape to the outside world and Scamander has gone after the little creature." He did an about face and strode out of the room, but the quick sound of steps behind him let him know that the man was following behind. "What do you know about nifflers?" 

"They like gold and silver and shiny things," the man said. "And they wreck houses which is why you shouldn't keep one as a pet." 

"After the trouble this one has caused, I don't think there is any danger of that happening." Percival strode down the hall, heading towards the back stairs in order to cover ground Newt might not know. "What's your name by the way?" They climbed down the remaining half of the stairs before the man answered. 

"Cecil," he said. 

It didn't seem to suit him but Percival wasn't one to talk. At the Auror Academy people used to call him by his last name because they said 'Graves' suited him better than 'Percival'. He was of the opinion it was because no one could be bothered to say his first name, especially since he wouldn't allow nicknames like 'Perce' or 'Percy'. 

"Right, Cecil, we have to try and corner this creature, preferably before the President sees it. And when he gets back into Scamander's case, you are going to take him to a locksmith and get those locks repaired." He glanced back to see Cecil nod. The man looked pale, almost ill, but he was now looking at Percival. It was strange, how he seemed far more focused on what Percival was saying than anyone else he knew, even his new Aurors. "Now, I think I might have an idea of where he would-" He caught sight of something out of the corner of his eye and trailed off. 

It wasn't every day that you saw one of your staff on the ceiling. Actually no, this was his life, it was far more normal than people would have you to believe. "Ms Jenkins, when I thought I would see you again, this is not how I thought it would go," he said as he approached the woman. She seemed to be bound, levitating and stuck to the wall, her wand on the ground in front of Percival. It was at moments like this where he was glad he spent all that time learning and practicing wandless magic. 

"What happened to her?" Cecil asked, worried. 

"Practical joke," Percival said quietly. "You would think crap like this would stop in school." Ms Jenkins was an airhead, for lack of a better word, but there was no malice in her. Percival got his wand out, he needed more precision than usual with this, and Cecil stared at it. "Yes?" Percival raised one eyebrow at Cecil. The boy glanced up, turned red and then returned his gaze to the floor. Shaking his head, Percival turned back to the woman and got her down from the wall as gently and efficiently as possible. 

Everything was okay until he took the body bind curse off and she burst into floods of tears and flung herself at Percival. He stared at her, crying all over his good waistcoat, and looked up at Cecil who looked both shocked and slightly amused. "It's alright, Ms Jenkins," Percival said soothingly as he gestured to Cecil to get the box of tissues. Thus armed, Percival put the box between the woman and him, acting as a sort of barrier while being sympathetic at the same time. 

Ms Jenkins took a step back and a tissue at the same time. "I'm sorry, Mr Graves," she said, now appearing mortified as her actions sunk in. Not only was she rescued from a prank by her boss but then she had cried on him. Percival could empathise (not with the crying but being rescued by your boss) and gave her the best smile he could. 

"Who was it, Ms Jenkins?" 

She looked down at the ground and mumbled something. When he asked her to repeat herself, she replied, "I can't say." 

"Do you know who did it?" He asked and got a hesitant nod for his troubles. "Ms Jenkins, unfortunately this isn't going to stop unless you get someone to help. Now if you don't feel comfortable talking to me about it, maybe you could talk to your direct manager." 

"I have talked to him but he says I'm just making a fuss and I deserve it even if." This seemed to set off a new wave of tears. Percival wracked his brain to try and figure out who it could have been. 

"What in Morgana's name could you have done to deserve this?" He asked, honestly surprised. Ms Jenkins was well-liked, if having a tendency to cry too easily, and she had a fairly inoffensive job of meeting coordinator as well as mail-girl. She worked alongside Queenie if he recalled. 

Ms Jenkins gestured at her belly and Cecil turned to look at him, confusion plain. Percival understood though. He remembered her taking a year off in order to have a baby but with the father nowhere in sight, she had returned to work and left the baby with her elderly mother. Queenie had babysat one time and insisted on him meeting the baby. Said he could practice his social skills on it. 

"In my eyes, that does not remotely count as a good reason to stick someone to a wall. Now Ms Jenkins, if your manager is being useless, I obviously need to talk to these people. It seems they have far too much time on their hands." 

She was about to answer when there was a crash and another scream. Why people insisted on screaming Percival could not understand but at least it made the niffler easy to track. Ms Jenkins jumped and looked up with wide eyes. "Right, Ms Jenkins, Cecil and I will have to go and take care of that. I want those names on my desk by the end of the day." He waited until she nodded before hurrying off in the direction of the sound, Cecil right behind him. 

They came across a crowd of people, all of them seemingly staring at someone in the middle of their circle. Percival moved forward and the crowd of people parted before him without him needing to say anything. Cecil followed closely behind. 

The niffler wasn't in the middle of the circle. There was a baby dressed in an adult size shirt rolling around on the floor, chortling to himself. There was a pair of trousers and nice dress shoes crumpled beside the baby as well. "Who is this?" 

"Billy, sir," someone from the back said. 

"Billy," he repeated. "Do you mean Billy Kene? One of the Junior Aurors?" 

"I didn't mean to, Mr Graves!" A frantic young woman, Ruby something, said. "I meant to hit him!" Her expression grew poisonous as she gestured violently as Sam Johnson, one of the Obliviators. He put up his hands in self-defence. 

"You weren't meant to find out," Sam said in what he must have thought was a soothing tone but just made Percival want to punch him in the face. Ruby seemed to have the same inclination for her hand was twitching towards her wand. 

"And that's supposed to make me feel better that you were seeing Cecily behind my back?" Ruby's voice grew higher at the end of the question and the baby started to cry. 

"That's enough," Percival said sternly. "You two, stay here. The rest of you, since you have been completely unhelpful in resolving the issue, can get back to work." The crowd cleared, slowly at first and then more speedily as Percival started to glare at each person individually. He had a good memory for faces and the crowd knew it. 

He picked up the baby, conjured a diaper for it and shrunk the shirt so it was more like a robe on the baby before handing it to Cecil. The man looked terrified at the thought of holding the baby but cradled it in his arms readily enough. 

"Right, Ms Wilson," thank Merlin he remembered her name, "if you want to get revenge on a cheating boyfriend, then my advice is not to do it in such an obvious way and in such a way that might hit someone else or at work. Mr Johnson, I would advise you not to cheat on your girlfriend at all but if you do, don't use the excuse that she wasn't meant to find out. And both of you should be keeping it out of the workplace, you got that?" Both Ruby and Sam nodded, shamefaced. "Disciplinaries for the both of you. Johnson, go away. Wilson, what did you do to Kene?" 

"A reverse aging spell," Ruby said, glaring at Sam's back as he took the opportunity to disappear as fast as he could. "Healers use it sometimes. It should wear off in a few hours." 

Percival wanted to ask what she had been planning to do to Johnson when he was a baby but decided he really did not want to know. He would have to listen to it in the discinplinary meeting anyway. "Good. Now go home, you're suspended from work for the day." 

"What?" Ruby gaped at him. 

"You turn an Auror into a baby, putting him out of commission for at least two hours, and you don't think there is going to be any punishment? Your emotions are too compromised to do the job. I'll have to talk to your manager. Suspended today and tomorrow without pay. If Kene isn't back to normal by the end of the day, I will be visiting you at home to have a word with you." Percival dismissed her with a wave of her hand and ignored her muttered protests. If it were anyone else, they would have fired her on the spot but MACUSA did not need any more bad press generated by disgruntled employees. He never liked Johnson anyway. "You okay?" He asked Cecil as Ruby left. 

"I feel like I should be asking you that question, Mr Graves." Cecil handed the baby back when Percival held out his arms. The weight was familiar and Billy settled against him easily, head against Percival's neck. 

"I swear it's not normally like this, but ever since Grindelwald took over my life, it's been hell to come back here." It was a lot more honest than he normally was but it felt good to talk to someone who wasn't an employee or someone who was breaking several hundred laws and caused his blood pressure to rise just by existing. "Man did the bare minimum to avoid suspicion but ignored everything else. Spent all his time chasing the Obscurial, poor kid." From what he had read, Credence Barebone wasn't a child but that didn't mean his life hadn't been unrelentingly tragic up until that point. Mary Lou Barebone was an unpleasant woman from Percival could remember, he had seen her frequently all over the city. 

Cecil looked like he was going to pass out or throw up. Percival opened his mouth to ask him if he was alright but then the baby screeched, more anger than unhappiness and he realised the baby was now resting against the buckle of his waistcoat and had to pull him up. "Sorry," he said, though whether it was to the baby or Cecil he didn't know. 

"It's alright," Cecil said quietly and then cleared his throat. "So, G-Grindelwald didn't do anything?" 

"Oh he did lots of things," Percival replied grimly. "He demoted Ms Goldstein after she apparently followed her conscience. I don't think it actually helped those Barebone children, considering we still had to leave them with their awful mother, but at least she was trying to do the right thing. Unlike the rest of my Aurors." Billy babbled in his arms and he looked down at the baby. "You're alright, but you need to think more and follow orders less." Percival rolled his eyes at himself. "You know what I mean." 

Cecil was staring at him like he had come from the bottom of the oceans or another planet. "Sorry. Apart from demoting Goldstein, Grindelwald put my best Aurors onto menial jobs, redirected search for the Obscurial into looking for a magical creature instead, hid his paperwork rather than doing it and was a little too free with executions." It was only after questioning the executioners that the ugly truth had come out. None of them had seemed to object to the number of executions Graves was ordering tripled over the two months Grindelwald was in charge. "Bastard," Percival muttered. "Let's find that niffler." Billy started to sniffle as if preparing to start a full blown wail. "Right after we all get some lunch." Anything to stop the screaming.


	2. Afternoon

Cecil was a good lunch companion. He had fallen quiet when discussing Grindelwald and the Obscurial but after Percival attempted to feed Billy some mashed potato only for the baby to point blank refuse, he caught him smiling a little. 

"So how long have you been working with Mr Scamander?" Percival asked after he had conjured a bottle of milk and given to Billy who started to gulp it down. 

Cecil seemed to stiffen up. "Not long," he said cautiously. "it's very interesting." 

"I bet it is," Percival said as he tried to prise the bottle off Billy. "It's empty, I'm going to refill it." Hopefully no one in the kitchens would care about the milk disappearing as Percival refilled Billy's bottle and gave it back to him. 

"Does things like this happen all the time?" Cecil gestured to Billy with his soup spoon. The man had chosen, despite the choice on offer, a bowl of watery tomato soup and a hunk of bread. Percival had shrugged and paid for the food and Cecil had looked far too grateful for some cheap soup and bread. Percival had tried to ignore the implications. 

"More often than you think," Percival answered glumly. "Everyone thinks being Director of Magical Security would be such a powerful and glamorous job but they don't tell you that most of the job is clearing up messes. Like the niffler and Jenkins and Kene." 

"That was nice what you did," Cecil said quietly. "For the woman. Really nice." 

"I'm not quite the ogre that everyone thinks I am," Percival said jokingly. Cecil looked stricken, so it seemed his joke had fallen flat. 

"Oh, I didn't mean," he started but fell silent when Percival waved his hand. 

"I know you didn't. It's alright." Percival wiped some excess milk from Billy's chin. "Picquery told me that I should socialise more so if a Dark Wizard ever wears my face again, someone will realise. Like it was my fault." He didn't look at Cecil when he said this. He wasn't quite sure why he was saying this but it was easier to focus on the baby rather than the fully grown adult opposite him. It all needed to come out somehow and better than Queenie reading it in his head and telling Tina. He didn't need the two sisters worrying about his health already more than they did. 

"Someone told me," Cecil said, hesitating over every word like he wasn't sure whether he wanted to say them. "They told me that Grindelwald was an expert at manipulating people. He had been doing it for years and it isn't your fault that you were one of those people." 

"Sounds like a very wise person." Percival looked up to see Cecil watching him, an unreadable look in his eyes. The moment was broken by Billy banging his bottle against the table with a giggle. 

**

There was no sign of the actual niffler but half the desks they passed looked like someone had upended their drawers so they seemed to be on the right track. Percival was carrying Billy again and was receiving strange looks from everyone they passed. He could have sworn he heard giggling as well. 

"You're not that cute," he said to the baby and Cecil looked perplexed. "Sorry, Cecil. Talking to the baby. Everyone seems to laugh as we come by." The thought came to him that they were laughing at him holding a baby and he scowled at the next person who giggled. "I don't look that ridiculous, do I?" Cecil looked surprised and opened his mouth to reply but Percival shook his head. "On second thoughts, don't answer that." Billy was an easy going baby and, now he had been fed, was content to giggle and make faces at all the people they went past. Okay, he could admit Billy was a little cute as a baby.

"Sir!" Martin Cyrus and Jilly Reggs came up to him, looking flustered and panicked - never a good look for Aurors. Martin stumbled a little when he saw the baby in Percival's arms but Jilly took no notice. 

"Aurors, what is going on?" 

"We have a situation- sir, who's baby is that?" Martin hadn't taken his eyes off the baby in Percival's arms. 

"Billy Kene." 

"I didn't know he had a baby," Martin said. Jilly sighed and crossed her arms. Her curly hair was escaping from its clip and gave her more of a frazzled look. 

"Is this really necessary when we have a situation going on downstairs?" She said pointedly to Martin. 

"He doesn't have a baby. This is Billy Kene," Percival answered, which got Jilly interested in the baby for the first time since she had entered the conversation. "What kind of situation is going on?" Both of his Aurors glanced at Cecil. "He's fine. Explain now." 

"Potions exploded in the Experimental Department. There's a few holes in the walls and floor and Weiss is currently growling at anyone who comes close. Literally growling." 

"You have got to be kidding me," Percival said flatly. The baby in his arms froze and started to shake. He was concerned until he realised the baby was staring into space and his dark skin had a blue glow to it. He put the baby down and vanished the clothes off him, not a second too soon. The light grew brighter and brighter, until Percival had to squint to look at it, and Billy Kene grew out of the baby, naked, with a confused look on his face. 

"Woah," Jilly said, interested, though Percival wasn't sure whether it was due to the spell reversal (he really had to discuss with Ruby where she had learned that spell in the first place) or due to the naked, nicely muscled man in front of her. Percival conjured some clothes and handed them to Billy before the poor man could realise he was naked in front of two of his colleagues, his boss and a civilian stranger. 

"Sir?" Billy asked, taking the clothes handed to him. "What happened?" 

"Magical accident. You have the rest of the day off to recover. Get dressed and go home." Billy changed into his clothes and wandered off, a confused expression remaining on his face. One crisis dealt with, though he might have to send someone round to check on Billy this evening. "Cecil, I'm sorry. If you continue looking for the niffler, I'll deal with this as soon as possible." The man looked conflicted and Percival was confused for a moment before realisation dawned. "Or you can come with me." 

The four of them headed down to Experimental Department, kept in the basement due to the frequency of explosions and small fires. It also meant when a witch or wizard ate something they shouldn't have, hallucinated that they were under attack by no-majs and jumped out the window, there was a far smaller drop because it simply led to another office. 

The growling could be heard as soon as they stepped foot on the door and Percival reconsidered the wisdom of bringing Cecil down with him. Yes, he worked with Newt and had probably seen far worse, but that didn't make it a good idea for Percival to put him at risk. He turned to tell Cecil to stay put but they were interrupted by Weiss sprinting towards them on all fours, teeth bared in a snarl. All three of them sent Stunners on reflex and the combination of the three had Weiss dropping like a stone. 

"At least that was quick," Percival said as he bound Weiss in reasonably tight ropes. No need to worry about a niffler and a drugged, hallucinating experimenter on top of that. "Cyrus, get this man to the Healers' Ward. Reggs, clean whatever mess he made. Cecil, you and I are going to find this niffler." His two Aurors didn't look enthused about their jobs but he knew they would get it done as efficiently as possible and the longer the niffler was on the loose, the more chance someone would curse it. Making Newt cry would make Tina upset and that would make Percival feel like a heel. Once he found the niffler, everything would be fine. 

Getting the trail again was easy, all they had to do was follow the sound of cursing employees who had had their belongings stolen by the creature. The niffler itself was much harder to find. 

"Has Scamander ever considered a bell?" Percival asked as they came to his old office on the same level as the Auror cubicles. As Director of Magical Security he got a bigger, far more isolated office on the third floor but sometimes he did miss being in the midst of chaos down here. The office wasn't open plan but it was only a door away from the Auror cubicles. 

"The niffler would take it," Cecil answered Percival's semi-rhetorical question seriously. "What are you looking for?" 

"I have a pen that should be able to limit where we have already searched," he answered. His drawers were a dusty mess, but at least he could be reassured that Grindelwald hadn't come down here at all. "Damn it, I think Merryweather has stolen my map of MACUSA. Can you go have a look on his desk? It's through the door, third on the right." He pointed to the second door in the room and Cecil followed his finger without protest. Strangely obedient for a magizoologist. Percival couldn't get Newt to be quiet for longer than a minute whenever he met him. 

"Sir," Tina said as she walked in the door that led to the elevator as soon as Cecil left. Queenie and Newt followed her in, Queenie smiling brightly as soon as she saw him while Newt looked like he had wandered in by accident. "Newt has blocked off the main MACUSA entrance for the niffler and we've tracked it down here." 

"Good work, Goldstein." Percival had just found the pen he had been looking for, but he was glad if the search would end here nontheless. "Scamander, have you ever thought about getting a locksmith for your case?" Newt half-smiled, glancing at Percival before his gaze moved around the office. 

Cecil came back into the room saying, "Someone said this was it." The next moment Tina opened a cupboard door and given Percival a hard shove into it. He landed with a clatter against old typewriters, about a million pieces of parchment and several old broomsticks which proceeded to beat him over the head. 

When he had dealt with everything, quickly and violently, he opened the cupboard door and stepped out. "Ms Goldstein," he said as coldly as he could. Everyone in the room, including Scamander's assistant, froze. "Is there any particular reason you pushed me into a cupboard?" 

"Well, sir, there's a very good explanation for that," Tina said. She blinked huge, dark eyes at him and any other time that would have been enough to make him cave, but right now he was exhausted, battered and bruised and one of his employees just shoved him into a cupboard. He hadn't been pushed into a cupboard since his sixth year at Ilvermorny and Olivia Martin thought it was the height of flirtation. 

Queenie snorted and he looked at her. "Oh, sorry. Just... cupboards." 

"Mr Graves, what is going on? I came to see the Aurors about this business with Weiss, only to find you down here." Madam Picquery was at the door now and everyone turned to stare at her. If he was being honest, he would tell her that he had lost track of what was going on about four hours ago. But he still resented the 'make more friends' remark and was disinclined to tell her anything. "And who is this?" She looked directly at Cecil. 

The next second a black, furry shape launched itself at the necklace Madam Picquery was wearing around her neck. The creature tried to wrench it off but Picquery was pulling it away, despite its grasping hands. Newt leapt forward and scooped up the niffler before he could do any more damage but the President still looked shocked, her headscarf askew. 

"This is Cecil, he's Mr Scamander's assistant. What is going on was that the niffler had escaped. But it looks like that problem is solved," Percival said in a level a voice as he could manage. 

Madam Picquery looked at him with an eagle eye as she straightened herself up. She was President for a reason, she knew that wasn't the only thing going on here but since no one was giving her anything, she eventually gave up. "You still haven't forgiven me, have you?" She asked him dryly. 

"No, Madam President." He gave her a patently false smile and Cecil flinched. Madam Picquery gave him a look but decided discretion was the better part of valor when the niffler looked longingly at her necklace again and headed out of the room. He waited one long minute and then cast a spell on the door that would at least muffle their words from any eavesdroppers. "Right, Goldstein, explain the cupboard." 

There was a moment of awkward silence. "Well, since we have found my niffler, I think Cecil and I are just going to go," Newt said quickly as he put the niffler back in his case. He took Cecil by the arm and started to drag him to the door. 

"But I don't want to go," Cecil said and he planted his feet. Newt staggered for a moment when he realised his companion wasn't moving anymore. Cecil had a stubborn look on his face that Percival had seen one too many times from Tina. It was far more amusing on this side of it. 

Queenie smiled at him but Tina looked panicked, about the same as Newt did. "No, I think it would be better if you went with Newt, Cecil. You don't want to stay around here longer than you have to." 

"No, I want to stay here." 

Newt looked like someone had kicked his niffler in front of him. Though there was far more hurt and far less murderous rage. "You don't want to come with me?" Cecil immediately looked torn and looked at Percival as if he was waiting for Percival to save him. 

"I believe he wants to stay until we get everything sorted out but I don't think he particularly wants to stay here and do large amounts of paperwork rather than looking after all your creatures," Percival said. He couldn't stand seeing Cecil being pushed into leaving, though he was sure Newt and Tina didn't mean to be manipulative and it tugged something at him. The man was thin and slightly awkward looking, but Percival wasn't surprised if he looked at people with those eyes and they immediately agreed to do whatever he wanted. Tina could give him lessons. Mercy Lewis, that was a horrifying thought.

"Mr Graves, the reason Tina and Newt are trying to get Cecil to leave is because his name isn't Cecil. It's Credence Barebone," Queenie said lightly. 

"Queenie!" Tina said. Both she and Newt looked horrified but Ce-Credence looked relieved. Something Queenie must have picked up from his mind then. 

"Credence Barebone? The Obscurial?" Percival asked. He really had not been expecting anything like today. It felt like nothing more could shock him, he already had to deal with employees being stuck to the wall and turning into babies and magical creatures that tried to rip jewellery off the President herself. Compared to everything else, a supposedly dead Obscurial was nothing. "You are looking very healthy for someone who is reported dead." 

"I didn't die," Credence said hesitantly. Percival wanted to make a sarcastic comment about how he had worked that out for himself, funnily enough, but Queenie shot him a warning look. Right. Grindelwald had used Percival's face to cajole and trick the young man into helping him. 

"Please don't tell President Picquery he's alive," Tina said hurriedly. "It was on her orders that Credence was killed in the first place." 

"You killed three no-majs," he said as he remembered words of a report he had read in his hospital bed, nearly two months ago now. Credence flinched again and Tina and Newt tensed, their hands going to their wands. "You know the punishment for that is a death sentence." Credence looked sick but a slow smile was appearing on Queenie's face. Tina glanced at her and then gave her a confused look, but she relaxed her grip on her wand all the same. "And it seems that sentence has been carried out. It's nothing to do with me if the sentence didn't stick." 

Queenie gave a joyful laugh and the next moment he had his arms full of blonde, laughing Leglimens. "Oh, Mr Graves, you really had everyone going there." 

"Yes, yes." He gave Queenie a pat on the back, similar to how he had done it to Ms Jenkins as well. Tina and Newt looked relieved, sagging against each other. Credence had inched his way closer to Percival and was giving Queenie a strange look. She detached herself from him in order to smile at Credence. 

"Don't worry about it, honey," she said teasingly and Credence flushed. Neither of them said anything to clear up their confusion and eventually Percival shook his head and let it drop. "Mr Graves, do you want to join Credence and I for dinner tonight? Newt and Teenie are going out." She wrinkled her nose sweetly and ignored her sister's protest. Credence's expression lightened so it was almost a smile. 

Well, the President had told him to make friends. If they were some people who skipped merrily over the line between legal and illegal, then she couldn't really say anything in protest. "Why not? Nothing in my apartment apart from bread and milk." 

Queenie clapped her hands. "Great! I'll see you then. Credence, we have to get everything ready for dinner if you want to come with me and I think Percival has a lot of paperwork he has to do." She gave Percival a wave, opened the door with a wave of her wand and pulled the three of them out with her. Everything was done with the efficiency of a drill sergeant and left Percival blinking at the door as they disappeared. 

"Never a normal day at this place," he muttered.


	3. Evening

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So this is a lot later than I planned. I started to write this chapter, realised I hated it, scrapped it and started again. Then I stressed about moving halfway around the world and then I actually moved halfway around the world, so writing took a back seat for a while. 
> 
> Rest assured, the last chapter will not take nearly as long.

Hunting down Ms Jenkins' attackers meant Percival left work on a satisfying note and he was almost feeling pleased with himself as he made his way over to Billy Kene's apartment. His brother let Percival in and he came into the small apartment, decorated with bright colours and cosy throws to find his Auror on the couch, looking far more with it than he had been earlier. 

"How are you doing? Any side effects?" Percival asked as Billy stood up to greet him. Billy's cheeks went red at Percival's question, obviously knowing exactly why he was here. The blush was dark enough to be seen through his dark skin and, while the polite thing to do was pretend he hadn't seen it, he had a dinner with Queenie and Credence to attend and had to get this wrapped up quickly. "I see you remember some of it." 

Billy nodded. He looked mortified. "I am really sorry, sir." 

"Why are you sorry? It's not like you asked to be changed into a baby," Percival said, waving off the apology. He completely understood the humiliation Billy was feeling, on his first week as an Auror, he had been hit by a love potion which had been strong but with a short half-life. Both fortunately and unfortunately the only person to witness it was Seraphina Picquery. "I couldn't leave you to anyone else, they would probably drop you and I wouldn't have one of my best Aurors." 

"Thank you, sir." Billy took a deep breath. "I'm feeling much better now. James has been making sure I was okay." 

"I'm glad." He turned towards the door. "Well, I shan't take up much more of your evening. If you need to, you can take the day off tomorrow." Billy was one of his best Aurors for a reason, he wouldn't take the ready-made excuse to have a day off but it needed to be offered anyway. "Rest assured the person who did this to you will be punished." 

"Thank you, sir," Billy repeated himself before letting Percival go. For a day that had been pretty horrible so far, it was getting better and better. Percival decided to walk the two blocks to Queenie and Tina's apartment. He had been there before despite the landlady's insistence on no men on the premises and it was far too early for him to show up quite yet. 

The sounds of New York made him almost smile as he walked down the street. A loud argument came up between two no-maj men as Percival walked along and there were several street sellers shouting about their wares. There was a screech of brakes behind him and Percival was able to delight in being free to walk the streets again when something large and painful hit him in the middle of his back and everything went black in a haze of pain. 

oOo

Queenie glanced at the clock again. Tina and Newt had disappeared over an hour ago, both of them blushing and glancing at each other shyly as they headed out of the door. Queenie had tried to stay out of their heads but the giggly nervousness was just radiating from the two of them. She didn't need to have any special talents to be able to tell that. 

"Miss Gold-- Queenie?" Credence asked. He was standing at the edge of the table, looking down at the set places in concern. His thoughts, as always, were a rolling mass of anxiety, hope and a happiness which was slowly replacing the all-encompassing misery that had been there at the start of their acquaintance. "Do you think Mr Graves got caught up at work?" 

"It's always possible," Queenie said neutrally. She doubted it, unless MACUSA was attacked and he was fighting right now, Mr Graves would have sent them notice he was going to be late. "Mr Graves does love his work. But he had been really excited about having dinner with us, so he should be here soon." It was very unusual for him to be this late intentionally. Normally Queenie wouldn't pay any mind to it, but the anxious pacing Credence was doing simply fed her own concerns. There was also the fact that Grindelwald was free and last time Mr Graves had escaped being another casualty of his by the skin of his teeth. 

Credence took a deep breath and continued to pace. "Do you think he'll like our meal?" Credence had baked the dessert the no-maj way and Queenie was ready with her wand to cook the strudel as soon as Mr Graves arrived. 

"I think he'll love it," she answered honestly. A bright smile seemed to relax Credence for a moment but then he looked down at the table again and remembered Mr Graves was gone. His thoughts were circular, chasing each other round and repeating themselves endlessly. Queenie wondered if Credence ever got tired of them. It must be exhausting. 

"Where is he?" Credence asked again but didn't seem to want an answer as he continued to pace. Queenie moved over to the fire and, conscious of Credence's eyes on her, Floo called the Auror Department. Mr Graves' office was not on the network, of course, but the Aurors were quite happy to tell her that Mr Graves had left at six o'clock on the dot. 

Now Queenie was worried. "Ah, Credence, honey, let's go to Mr Graves' house. I know where it is." Credence didn't answer but his skin went a shade paler. He was already pale but now he looked almost ill. He came without another word, however, and grasped Queenie's arm. They apparated outside Mr Graves' house. 

It was a forbidding structure, in a magical area outside of New York. No-majs often found themselves remembering something they had forgotten whenever they started to get near this place, it was the same for all the old Pureblood families. The house was made of stone and centuries old, judging by the style of windows and doors. Normally it would be protected by layers and layers of spells, but after the Grindelwald castrophe, he had given the pass phrases to Tina and Queenie in case anything like that happened again. 

"The blood of the covenant is thicker than the water of the womb," Queenie said as she and Credence climbed the stone steps to the intimidating front door. It swung open at her words and she stepped in, holding herself straight with confidence as she felt Credence shy back due to nerves. She had never been here before, or at least not inside, but she didn't let any of her trepidation show on her face. There were eyes watching them, likely the portraits on the walls, but she did not return their gaze. 

"Come on, it will be a simple matter to find Mr Graves." She sounded far more confident than she was but it didn't take long to search before the both of them realised Percival wasn't here and hadn't been here recently. Queenie knew he had an apartment in the city but he had sold it after Grindelwald had used it as a base of operations. "Maybe he got another apartment?" She asked herself as she looked through the papers on Mr Graves' desk. There was nothing relevant, simply letters to and from his father and brother about the family name and fortune. 

"Queenie, what if Grindelwald has got him again?" Credence asked, looking pale and sick. 

"Ah, I'm sure that's not the case," Queenie said but her mind was already tripping over exactly what they had to do if Mr Graves had been taken again. Maybe they should get Tina and Newt involved? "He was thinking about going to check on his Auror that got cursed today. Maybe he got held up at that." 

Credence nodded but he looked doubtful. Queenie didn't blame him. "Where are you, Mr Graves?" He asked softly, looking up at the grandfather clock in the study. Queenie silently repeated the question as she tried to figure out what to do now.


	4. Night

Pain was the first thing that greeted Percival as soon as he woke up, but his memory came back in an instant and he understood exactly why he was in this state. 

"Hello? Can you tell me your name?" A woman dressed in a clean, white dress, decidedly not Healer's robes, bent over Percival. Her smile was kind but there no hint of recognition behind it. 

"My name is Percival Graves," he replied in a hoarse voice. He watched her closely and saw compassion and sympathy but not a flicker at the well-known name. No-maj most likely but that did not rule out the possibility of a Grindelwald sympathiser who decided to take over Graves when they had the chance. "Where am I?" 

"Bellevue Hospital, Mr Graves," the smiling woman said. "You were hit by a car and broke two ribs as well as received a head injury, but otherwise you were very lucky. Are you in pain, Mr Graves?" 

He was, but it was manageable so he shook his head. The woman didn't look like she believed him but nodded anyway. "I am Nurse Madison. Is there anyone I can call to help you?" 

"No, thank you, they don't have an easily accessible phone." And they wouldn't know how to use one even if they did. He glanced out the window and was dismayed to see night had fully fallen now, the street lamps all aglow on the street. "What time is it?" 

"Eleven o'clock at night, Mr Graves." 

Yes, he had missed dinner but he could only hope Queenie and Credence would forgive him. Bellvue had a connection here to the Magical Manhattan Hospital, he should be able to Floo call Queenie at least, he knew she was on the network. The nurse disappeared with another smile and Percival resolved to get out of bed and look for the entrance to the correct Hospital but as soon as he tried to move, a flare of pain pushed him down into his bed. It would be corrected as long as a proper Healer had a look at him, there was no need to stay here. 

He told himself he would have a quick rest and then he would try again. 

The next time he woke up, everything was far quieter and his stomach was rumbling in hunger. Percival looked around and was thankful he was in a room on his own, before attempting to sit up in bed. He cursed under his breath about the pain but he managed to sit up on the bed. A cold sweat had broken out on his back and it was with a start that Percival realised he was wearing a blue and white striped set of hospital garments, rather than his own clothes. 

"Mr Graves!" A different nurse, again in a white dress, had appeared in the doorway looking horrified at him. "Get back into bed! You should not be walking around." 

"Be that as it may," Percival replied because he was not going to say she was right, even though his ribs felt like they were on fire. "I have slept enough and now I want to get out of bed. Where are my belongings?"

"In your bedside locker, of course," the nurse said huffily. "Mr Graves, it is nearly three in the morning, any walking around can wait until tomorrow." 

Something revolted in Percival at the thought of being ordered around by this woman, who didn't even know she was dealing with a wizard. He knew it would be better for him to get up to the magical entrance and let the Healers heal him with one flick of their wands and he didn't need a nurse telling him he couldn't walk around out of bed. "I wouldn't disturb anyone." The nurse folded her arms and stared at him. She wasn't going to be persuaded and Percival was in too much pain to yell at her properly. "Fine. Then if I am to sleep, I would like more painkillers." 

The nurse sniffed. "Fine, but don't move from that bed." Her footsteps were steady as they walked away, the click-clack of a busy person and Percival waited until they were out of hearing range before getting off the bed and heading around to his bedside cabinet. In the cupboard below was his coat, his trousers and thankfully in one piece, his wand. No shirt, but what the hospital provided would be adequate cover until he was healed. 

Apparating was difficult in his condition and he could have wept in relief as he appeared at the front desk of Magical Manhattan Hospital, the only place in the hospital where Apparition was allowed. The wizard at the welcome desk jumped up in alarm at his appearance. 

"My name is Percival Graves. I was hit by a no-maj vehicle and would appreciate a Healer as soon as possible." The wizard nodded and hurried off without speaking. Percival took a few deep breaths and wished he was near a fireplace so he could contact Queenie and let him know where he was. He dropped his normal clothes but kept a tight hold of his wand.

The young wizard returned with a Healer dressed in a light blue robe. Both of them looked shocked and halted several feet from Percival in order to stare at him. "Mr Graves... are you Mr Graves?" The Healer asked hesitantly. 

"What in Morgana's name do you mean?" Percival asked. He was in a lot of pain and had just apparated with broken ribs, not something he particularly wanted to repeat thanks to the concentration needed to keep himself from splinching. All he needed right now was for the Healer to fix him up so he could go home. 

"Go and alert MACUSA," the Healer said in what he obviously thought was a quiet voice to the wizard from the welcome desk. The wizard scurried off but not before giving Percival one more frightened look. The Healer took out his wand and started to speak in a soothing voice. "Jeffery said you had been hit by a No-maj car? That's strange, I thought you could move out of the way." 

"Not if it hits you from behind and you're distracted," Percival muttered as he watched the Healer's wand. He knew those spell motions and they definitely weren't a healing spell. _"Protego!"_

The Healer's spell rebounded and he was sent flying backwards, landing with a soft noise on the floor. When he got up, his neatly styled hair was askew and his robes tangled around his legs. 

"I'm the Director of Magical Security, you think I can't tell the wand movement of a Stunning Spell?" Percival asked him flatly. "What I want to know is who are you, why you tried to stun me and why is the welcome wizard contacting MACUSA?" 

The Healer didn't get a chance to ask because the next moment, the welcome wizard returned along with Tina Goldstein and Newt Scamander for some reason. Percival resisted the urge to roll his eyes. He could safely say, apart from any days with Grindelwald and any time during the Great War, this was one of the worst days of his life. "Goldstein, Scamander, please tell me that there isn't a magical creature lose somewhere in the hospital?" 

Tina stumbled a little but didn't put her wand away. "We just need to make sure you are who you say you are, Sir." 

A bolt of clarity came to Percival. "That's what this whole thing was about?" He shot a glare at the Healer. "You could have said instead of trying to stun me." 

"You tried to stun him?" Tina looked like she didn't know whether to be amused or angry. 

"Goldstein, I was on my way to dinner when I got hit by one of those No-Maj contraptions from behind. I woke up in Bellevue Hospital and then apparated here as soon as I could get away from the nurse. I thought I could get my ribs fixed up quickly so I could go explain to my dinner companions exactly why I didn't show up." Percival wanted to cross his arms to emphasise his point but he knew it would only hurt. "Now can you please confirm my identity so I can get healed and go home to my own bed?" 

"Sure, Mr Graves." It didn't take long after that to get things moving but Percival didn't put his wand away until he was healed and dressed in his normal clothes (he had to conjure a new shirt and waistcoat). 

"Queenie and her friend are at your house," Tina said when Percival stepped out of the changing room. "They've been worried about you." He blinked at the information, he knew Queenie knew where his house was but he didn't think she would ever go there, especially without him. 

"Why did they not go back to your apartment?" He asked. 

Tina glanced at the Healer and Jeffery, both of which were standing nearby, pretending not to listen. "Cecil was a little upset so Queenie thought it would be best to remain where they were." 

He accepted this answer with a nod. "Thank you, Miss Goldstein, Mr Scamander. I apologise for interrupting your evening." Both of them went flushed bright red and Percival had to restrain his smile to just a twitch. "I'll go and check on Queenie and Cecil now." 

The house Percival had in the country was a family house, passed down through centuries of Graves'. He couldn't sell it even if he wanted to but he hoped someday one of his siblings would take it over. When he walked into the front door, Queenie and Credence were sitting in two armchairs by the fire. Queenie was patting Credence on the back, comforting him. When they both looked up, the happy and relieved expressions made Percival grin like he hadn't done in so long. 

"I left Tina and Newt at the Magical Manhattan Hospital," he explained, hoping to forestall any more Grindelwald mistakes, but Queenie only smiled. He looked at Credence and the delighted smile on his face. "You would not believe the day I've had."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So I completely forgot that I hadn't updated this chapter? I thought I had done it already since I had it all ready, but then I got a comment asking me to update and proceeded to have an actual facepalm moment. 
> 
> Anyway, the last chapter is finally, finally posted. I hope you enjoy it and thank you so much to everyone for their lovely comments and kudos!


End file.
